Craft
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving
The plot, improbable as it is: Danny, the twelve-year-old son of a logging community’s cook, walks in on his dad and his dad’s lover (Jane), whom he mistakes as a bear. To be fair, Danny’s dad, nicknamed Cookie, gave Danny a tall-tale about fending off a bear (common in the northeast region) from the house…
Balancing Your To-Do List with Summer Fun
Do you ever wonder where the week has gone? Mine has Vanished, along with all my grand plans of productivity. Last summer I went off on a three week amazing adventure and accomplished little in my home. This summer I vowed to check off several projects. But I’m finding that these projects are way too…
Embrace the Detour
Sometimes detours are good. Sometimes they’re frustrating. But however you view your particular detour or “interruption” on the path to your dreams, one thing is certain! You will have detours. Might as well learn how to embrace them instead of fight them! The key to surviving and maintaining a good attitude through it all is…
Growing your Work at Home Business
So you have all your childcare issues worked out, but you sense you’re still struggling with time management. Here are some tips to help you get back on track with your business goals. Identify the highest and best use of your time If you’re in direct sales, the highest and best use of your time…
Organize Your Writing Life
What used to be a simple routine of writing in the morning before going to work has morphed into a full-time job of writing as often as possible while also keeping track of a whole list of publicity appointments, editing, more writing projects and, of course, being a mom and a wife. I am here…
Top Ten Mistakes in Manuscripts
by Camy Tang 10) Inadequate use of point of view. I’m not talking about head-hopping. I’m talking about a very distant use of point of view that doesn’t get the reader into the character’s head or feeling the character’s emotions. For a first chapter, especially, this is crucial. If the reader isn’t immediately sucked into…
Breathing Life into Your Setting
Setting in a fictional novel, if done well, can take on a life of its own. In order to create a setting that is almost like a character, there are two basic points to know: 1) Know Your Setting, And 2) Know How Your Setting Influences Your Characters. To Know Your Setting, you must first…
I Hit Send on My Novella
It took me a bazillion passes and I didn’t quite hit my goal of 20,000, but yesterday I hit send on my 21, 821 word novella. I can’t believe it started out around 56,000 and after five on again off again months of editing, I did it! Whew!! Still can’t believe I managed a coherent…
50 Ways to Edit Your WIP
From the Editor: When I signed my first contract in January and agreed to chop 30,000 plus words off my 55,000 word WIP, I knew what I was getting into. Well, sort of. I knew it would be painful to cut that many words. I knew scenes I loved would have to go and be…
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
A satire on two generations of Americans and the American dream (or, more accurately, dreams), Jonathan Franzen wrote a book that at times seems more case-study than novel. Because of this, for a good part of the book, the characters seem almost more caricature than individual. Of course, the big twist in the end is…